Shoe tree or stretcher.



No. 777,188. PATENTEE'DEC. 13, 1904. E. DREW.

SHOE TEEE 0E STEETCEEE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 7, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

llniiTnD STATns Patented :December 13, 1904:..

PATENT Tricia.

FRED DREW. OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSlGNUR OF ONE-l-ALF T A. A.DELANO, OF BROCKTUN, MASSACHUSETTS.

SHCE TREE OFl STHETGHEH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 777,188, dated December13, 1904:.

Application led March '7, 1904. Serial No. 196,862. (No model.)

To (all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, FRED DREW, of Brockton, in the county of Plymouthand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Shoe Trees or Stretchers, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to shoe trees or stretchers which are intended tobe used by the wearer of a pair of slices to exert longi- IO tudinalpressure on the interior of the upper between the heel and toe portionsfor the purpose of eradicating wrinkles and of supporting the upper sothat it may be conveniently cleaned, polished, 85e.

The invention has for its object to provide a two-part tree or stretcheradapted to be quickly and conveniently engaged with the upper andconstructed to provide for automatically adapting itself to lit varyingsizes 2O of shoes. i

The invention consists in the improvements which I will now proceed todescribe and claim.

ln the accompanying drawings I have illustrated my invention as embodiedin the type of shoe tree or stretcher which is shown, described, andclaimed in the application, Serial No. 188,984, tiled January 111, 1904,by A. A. Delano. It is to be understood, however, that my presentinvention may be embodied in a somewhat different type of tree orstretcher.

0f the said drawings, Figure 1 represents a longitudinal section ot' ashoe having a tree or stretcher constructed according to my inventionfitted within said shoe. Fig. 2 representsa top plan view of the tree orstretcher. Fig. 3 represents a modilication hereinafter described.

The same reference characters indicate the 40 same parts in all thefigures.

ln the drawings, a represents the tore part of the tree or stretcher,said fore part being formed to enter the fore part of the upper ot' ashoe The said iore part a is provided 4 5 with a vertical slot d, theupper portion a2 of which is adapted to actas a stop for a portion oi'the lever hereinafter described. The

lever c is connected with the fore part by means of a fulcrum pin orpivot (Z, said lever having' an outer arm 2 and an inner arm 3, 50 thelower end oi' the latter being preferably formed with a knob orenlargement et to cngage the edge of the shoe.

The lever c is provided with a protuberance 30, which is adapted tocooperate with the wall (t2 of the slot a in a manner substantially thesame as described in the application above referred to. Briefly thiscooperation may be stated as follows: lVhen the upper arm 2 of the leveris thrown to the right 6o from the position shown in Eig. 1, it isobvious that the lower end of the arm 3 moves toward the toe and enablesthe tree to be inserted or removed. When, however, the parts are insubstantially the position shown in Fig. 1, the inner' arin is inposition so that its outer end comes to a bearing simultaneously againstthe inner wall ol'l the shoe while the fore part is pushed `forward tothe toe.

According to my present inmrovement the 7o portions of the fore partwhich overlap the lever are each lornied with a horizontal slot 5, intowhich the pivot Z projects. This slot 5 may extend directly to the rearend of the iore part, the end of said slot 5 being open, 75 as shown inFig. 3, or the ends of the slot 5 may be closed andthe intermediate partoli the lower side of said slot communicate with the lower edge by meansof a vertical slot, such as shown at 6 in `Fig. l. For some rea- 8o sonsI prefer this latter construction. This structure not only enables thetwo members of the tree or stretcher to be readily assembled or takenapart, but it also adapts the device to automatically adjust itself tovary- 3 5 ing sizes of shoes within the limits o1 the length of the slot5. It will be readily understood that when the device is inserted in ashoe, as shown in Fig. 1, it the shoe were shorter than that shown insaid ligure the pivot Z would be nearer the left-hand end of the slot 5when the device is in stretching position and when the stop a of thefore part and the protuberance or stop 30 of the lever c come in contactwith each other, and il the shoe were a larger one the outer arm 9. ofthe lever would be turned farther to the left, the protuberance 30riding down the wall of the slot c', so as to bear against a lowerportion of the stop a2, the pivot Z at the same time riding outward ortoward the right along the slot 5 until the limit of movement is reachedas prescribed by the size of the shoe. Therefore the adjustment becomesautomatic.

It will be seen that the two members of the tree or stretcher overlapand that the overlapping portion of the Jfore part is longitudinallyslotted, the two members of the tree or stretcher having abuttingportions comprising the protuberance 8() and the stop-wall a2, whichWill hold the two parts in relative positions for stretching the shoeindependently of the position of the pivot relatively to said slot,thereby providing a simple and convenient form of self-adjusting tree orstretcher.

I claim# 1. A shoe tree or stretcher comprising two overlapping members,one oi' which is adapted to engage the toe and the other the heel of ashoe,one of said members being longitudinally slotted, a pivotprojecting from the other member and extending into said slot, and thesaid members having abutting portions to hold them in relative positionsfor stretching the shoe independently of the position of the pivotrelatively to said slot.

2. A shoe tree or lstretcher comprising a fore part and a lever, thefore part having a slot through which the lever extends, the portionsfor stretching the shoe independently of l the position of the pivot insaid longitudinal slots.

3. A shoe tree or stretcher comprising a fore part and a lever, the forepart having a slot through which the lever extends, the portions ot thefore part which overlap the lever being longitudinally slotted andhaving vertical slots connecting with the longitudinal slots, and apivot projecting from the lever into said longitudinal slots, the saidfore part and lever having abutting portions to hold them in relativepositions for stretching the shoe independently of the position of thepivot in said longitudinal slots.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

FRED DREW.

Witnesses:

A. WV. HARRISON, R. M. PIERsoN.

